So, how mad should I be?

So, how mad should I be?

Hmm this turned out to be a little long…

Had a little problem with my height adjustable seat not maintaining an adjustment. I would roll it all the way up and it would be half way down in about 3-4 days. New X was about 2000 miles old so I took it in to see if that was normal. The dealership found a broken part and ordered a new chunk-o-seat bottom.

A few days later on a Tuesday a lady from the dealership parts/service department called to tell me the part was in. I made an appointment to bring it in the following Thursday after I got off working in the morning, I told them I would have the truck there no later than 9am.

Thursday morning rolls around and I get the truck there earlier than planned, gave the key to one of the service advisors (mine was not there), told him I had an appointment for the seat and went home and went to bed. About 3pm I had gotten up and was beginning to wonder why they had not called to say it was ready yet.

I called and happened to get the service manager on the phone. He had no record that my vehicle had even been in for service that day! He even asked me “are you sure you dropped it off at such and such Nissan?” I told him I was quite sure and told him to look in the parking space right next to the service drive entrance for a red Xterra with Geocaching.com on the back. He looked and replied “oh yeah I guess it is here” This was 6 hours after I had dropped it off with an appointment and they had not even looked at it! The manager said he was going to look into it and call me back.

After 30 minutes with no call I called him back myself. Apparently the lady that called me did not do anything to log my appointment. Add to that my service advisor was off that day so nobody that knew of the problem was there. Even though I had told them when I dropped it off. So initially they did not know why it was there and after a while they just flat out forgot about it. No call to my service advisor at home, to me, or a computer history check to find out why it was there! The manger said it was too late at that point to work it in and I would have to bring it in again another day. So after 7 hours of sitting in front of the service drive nothing was done! I picked it up and made arrangements to bring it in the following Thursday at the same time.

I dropped it off the following Thursday for the 3rd visit for the same problem. This time my service advisor was there and knew about what happened the week before. I went home again and went to sleep. Around noon my service advisor called and woke me up saying that they had tried to put the new seat part in but found another broken part that they did not notice the first time! This part was unavailable so they had to order it too, surprise it is on national backorder!

So it has now been in service 3 times for a total of 17 hours and the seat is still broken! So far all they have offered is a free oil change… Nissan has sent me a survey for this repair, which I am waiting to fill out based on the outcome of this. It has now been 3 weeks and still no part.

I used to take my first Xterra to this dealership but stopped after they built a new dealership closer to where I lived and never had a problem. Now I have moved and live close to this one. Their sales department has been great so far, I have bought 2 vehicles from them now in the past 2 months and gotten more than excellent deals from them. However after this I may be switching service departments!

So I typed the above up about a month ago and forgot to post it, but the story now continues. After about 4 weeks of waiting for the part I went in to get another item from the parts department. While I was there I inquired about my seat part. It was there and had been there for over a week, they never called! Made another appointment to have it fixed. Brought it in and this time I waited for it!

Every time I go in for any service I tell them not to leave my truck unlocked outside due to the amount of stuff I carry around in it. Sure enough when they said it was ready I found it sitting unlocked next to the used car lot! Made them aware of this so now I get my truck washed next time it’s in!

They claimed it was it was repaired however in a few days the seat had fallen again. I posted the problem in “Problems and Annoyances” over a week ago and so far no one else has responded that they have the same problem so apparently it is not a common problem and should be repairable. That along with them being able to fix my cruise control is really starting to irritate me.

As if that was bad it gets better!

Like I said I have acquired 2 vehicles from the dealership. The second is a 2004 Sentra SpecV (got it used with 2000 miles for close to nothing!) Managed to get a sidewall puncture in the tire a couple weeks ago. Took the tire to a tire shop to have it looked at and was given a price for a new tire, shopped around for a good price but had to order the tire. Damn 215/45/17 tire cost more than my 31/10.5/15 Revos!

Before we ordered the tire we called the service department to see if that was covered on the maintenance package that we bought along with the car. I knew there were a couple of perks to it or else we would not have gotten it, however the paperwork for it had not yet come in the mail (only had the car a month at that point) They told us that road hazard was not included in that package so we ordered the damn $150 tire! (This is all prior to even making the first payment on the thing!)

While waiting for the ordered tire the paper work for the extended warranty and maintenance plan came in the mail. Sure enough it says plainly that the original tires are covered for all road hazards. I still had the tire and rim in the X so I went over and showed them the paperwork stating that the tire was covered even though they had told me no over the phone. They apologized and ordered a new tire. Didn’t cost me a thing!

New tire came in and I had it put on this morning. Before leaving I checked the trunk for the spare. They had just thrown that nasty donut on top of a pile of clothes and a couple boxes of Girl Scout cookies! (yumm cookies!) Showed the service advisor and he put it away himself.

This is just one thing after another, they are very nice in person but they suck when it comes to getting things done!

So after all of that… How mad would you be

Perhaps it's time to write a letter to th GM, cc to NIssan Cusotmer Service and who ever else you can think of !!!

Thats REAL BAD! I am pissed for you. It is a shame you already gave them plenty of your business.

BASTARDS!!!

.....I'd be pissed.

This part, at least, may be nobody's fault. The 205/60R16's for my wife's Accord Coupe cost 700 bucks (even on sale) with no mileage warranty. I ended up replacing them with BF Goodrich Traction T/A for $350 (70,000 mile warranty).

Ahh so the crap continues.

SO I went up there today for the seat, again and the Cruise control, again, and my free car wash.

Got there a little before 2 in the afternoon and told one of the service advisors of my problems since my previous service adviser no longer works there. Told them I would be waiting on it and then I walked down the street to get some lunch. Came back around 3:30 and found it still sitting untouched in the back lot. A buddy of mine had also brought his X in as well for just and oil change so we left in it so I could run an errand before the place closed.

Came back 30 minutes later and found it still sitting.

Walked around in the auto mall checking out different makes of cars for about 45 minutes or so before walking back. Found the X in one of the outer service bays, door open, no one around, and keys on the dash. Might as well of put a giant “steal me” sign on it. Stood and watched for the tech to come back. He never did so I left to see what was going on from my service advisor. He advised that they were working on it.

I waited awhile and then walked over to the bay again. Found a Murano behind my X with a tech reprogramming the computer. Watched him mess with that little gizmo for a while before walking back up front.

Came back a little while later and found the computer still reprogramming the Murano, but no tech. So now there was a nice Nissan computer, a Murano with Keys, and my truck up for grabs!

Wandered back over there and the Murano was gone and the tech that was working on it was smoking and talking to the car wash guys. This time the tech asked me if I was looking for someone. I nodded towards my X in his service bay and told him I had been waiting on my truck to get fixed since before 2 (it was then 5:45). He exclaimed “oh its been ready!” “They marked on the work order that you were not coming back till after 6 to pick it up.” He showed it to me and sure enough the service advisor had written, “6:00” in the area where they usually write, “wait”.

He finished up the paper work and I went to chat with my good ol service advisor some more while they washed the truck. I asked him if they were able to repair the 2 items this time. He said they replaced the whole seat bottom this time but they could not find the problem with the cruise control. I told him that it defiantly has a problem and that the next time I had free I would be back a third time to take someone for a ride and show them!

I did not get out of there till after 6:30!

I think you need to find somewhere else to take your truck... those guys obviously suck... or are you just a glutton for punishment?

How do guys like this stay in business?
I would be looking for a new dealer.
In the Atlanta area there has to be a good one out there somewhere...please

Hey Brian
TobascoX is haunting you....

Last time I dropped off my X to be serviced, the shuttle guy left without me. I ended getting impatient and paying ten bucks for a cab. They are opening a new dealership in town. I will use that one next time.......

You should have gotten in, driven your truck home, called the dealership, and asked your service advisor when your truck was going to be ready.

I smell a free Xterra...

Now that would have been fun to try.

Hmm now that would have been funny! I may do that when I go back for the cruise again. Take it and park it down the street then go back and sit in the waiting room. Wonder how long it would take them to notice?

I'm not sure they ever would.

dave and xtoy - dealers are why I don't have a new car

They probably labor under the misguided notion that "an empty bay means the work's been done." At the end of the day, if the bays are empty and the floor's been swept, it MUST be time to go home... Xterra? What Xterra? Oh, I think Bob was working on an Xterra but he must have finished, look, the bay is empty.....

So I went back to have the cruise looked at again. I told the service advisor I would just be back in a week if they gave me the ol “could not duplicate” run around. So I made good on my promise and brought it in for the 3rd time. Apparently one of the technicians that previously worked on the truck didn’t like how the rookie service advisor wrote up the work order cause he came out and got in a little argument fit in the service drive.

A few minutes later the tech came around in my truck and asked me to ride with him to show him the problem since the service advisors can’t seem to describe it to them correctly. It failed on him during the test drive (what a relief!) He believes it is the switch itself (amazing! I told them to try replacing that last week!) Of course they did not have the part so they have to order it. Which sucks since I have a 600-mile drive ahead of me this weekend and a working cruise control would be nice!

The other car we bought from them was slightly used. First owner had it for less than a month, hit a deer with it at 2000 miles and traded it in for another vehicle. The dealership had it repaired, looked pretty good so we bought it for about 2/3 rds of the price new. Was checking it out today under the hood a little better and discovered that the head light bracket was broken by the deer. But rather than replace it, the body shop just glued it back together and painted the glue black! One half has already broken apart again. Ahh lovely another thing to fix!

So now we are at 5 visits for the seat and 3 for the cruise….

I would start going to another dealership! You have given them far too many chances. Also, your post is really screwy...the middle paragraph starts over again somewhere in the middle. Good luck, I hope everything turns out for you!

Guess i managed to copy and paste it wierd. I am going to go to another dealer soon as this one fixes these problems right.

So what was the problem?

I had the same run around with the service dept at the dealer I bought the X from. First had a rattle in the exhaust (keep in mind that I have to drive 40 miles to get to this dealer). First time they said they couldn't duplicate the sound. Drove home, started right when I got home. SO made another appointment. Drove back up there, they said the same thing, lucky this time before we left it started again so got that fixed. Few months later she started to smell like she was really burning gas, getting about 150 miles on a take. Made and appointment, got up there they said they couldn't do anything cause I didn't make a gas log. I bitched at them for a few minutes. Left, what ever it was fixed itself.

Took it in for an oil change, asked for full synthetic oil. Watched them come out and put in just reg oil.

Got fed up with the bull so I decided to go to the dealer here in town, and they haven't given me any crap and do everything I ask.

Well Finally after 6 trips to the dealership the Cruise is working… for now. IM not going to keep my hopes up.

I took it back today for the seat. It held for just over a month and I noticed over the weekend that it had rolled down again. They are clueless as to what to replace on it. I bumped the thread in Problems and annoyances a couple days before I took it in and still no one has replied on it. I told them that I posted the question and out of all the people here no one else had any complaints on the same problem. Another call to CA…

Also during one of my visits the service advisor mentioned to me that the tire I had replaced under the maintenance agreement was covered however I was supposed to pay them and then file a claim with Nissan to get reimbursed for the repair to the tune of $270! So he asked me to pay it! Which I declined! I told him I could not afford to have that much money just floating around like that while I waited for Nissan to send it back to me. Especially since it had been over 2 months since I filed for a reimbursement on the window regulator I paid for out of pocket on my 2001 X and I still had not seen any money.

Been almost a month now since I informed them about the headlight. Still no word on that.

So after all this crap I called Nissan customer relations today. Gave them the info on how many times I have been there for each problem, the forgotten appointment and their meager attempts at compensation. I should hear from them tomorrow.

I will be going to another dealer for future problems.

Just so I know what Stealership to stay away from, what is the name of this dealership in Atlanta? I deal with Team Nissan in Marietta. Hopefully it is not them.

Stealership huh? That term never fails to ammuse me... :rolleyes:

Especially when you guys are really describing the technicians that work there, not really the service writers that you're dealing with.

Just to let you know, we get paid 100% commision. If we don't fix a car, we don't get paid. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Squat.

For every 'Could Not Duplicate' that I write on a repair order, I get the same thing, Zero. I'll spend 1/2 hour working on a car, if I can't duplicate the concern that's written on the RO, then I'll pull it out.

We only get paid when something gets fixed.

If you really want to get it fixed, then tell the advisor that you'll ride with the technician. Dealership techs usually have a bit more pride than your standard Joe-buttcrack, cigar smokin' grease bag with a rag in his pocket. You show me what it's doing, I'll fix it.

Stealership...funny.

I would have to completely disagree with you. I think the service writers are the ones that rip people off, not the technicians. I understand the duplication thing, it is just annoying as an owner to know something is wrong with your truck and have somebody tell you that it is fine. I know, for every 1 guy that knows something is wrong with his vehicle, there are 100 idiots that have no clue what they are talking about.

I am surprised that there is an industry that will pay in such a manner (not that I doubt it is the truth).

I mean, look at the investment that a professional technician has to make in tools, training, and certifications.

At least car salesmen who also work on straight comission don't have any money invested (other than a cheap suit) so it really doesn't matter if they get paid or not - or leave for that matter.

It is true that the service department is the biggest influence for customer capture at the dealership...but a lot of the time it is forgetten due to the rigors of worring about C.S.I. (which is B.S.), G.P., and the typical general populus idots out there that don't understand that it costs money to maintain a vehicle.

I know the attraction to working flat-rate total comission is the amount of money you can bring home. And as well, the amount of money that the dealership can make (as they basically eliminate unapplied labor), but in reality the "service" perspective is lost when money and livelihood are the only thing on the company's/employee's mind when the customer rolls through the door.

I have about $35k alone in tools. Not counting schooling and such.

I agree wholeheartidly. But I generally work on driveability concerns (runs rough, codes, electrical and the like) and I make a decent living. I only usually flag (get paid on) between 35-40 hours a week. Anything more and the quality really goes down.

Your statement is also the reason why I am in a profession that isn't growing much any more. It's hard to get decent techs that won't look at their pocketbook every 10 minutes. But I prize the dealership in which I work. They treat customers well, and the techs well also.

I just wish more dealerships would do the same. It's good to work for a family owned place.

Well I would PM you the name But you have it disabled...

Check out www.sxfc.org

Well Cruise is still working!

Seat is still broken, no word on a possible solution.

Headlight still Broken, no word on it.

Nissan is sending me a $100 credit that I can use at the parts counter or for service for the trouble.

On a side note I had posted I was having trouble with my battery not charging. I got off work one morning at 8am and was afraid if I drove it home it would not start later in the afternoon. So I drove to the dealership that I used to live behind. Told them the problem, the tech came out to the service drive (a tech not some high school aged car jockey!) I told him the problem and MagellanX duplicated the problem himself by not wanting to start in the service drive.

They put in a new battery and I was home sleeping by 9:30am. Thanks Stone Mountain Nissan! They are just about double the drive but it’s worth it!

Cyclemut, I am speaking of Dealerships in general. I do not mean the Technicians themselves as I am one also, but of the Aircraft type. We have our share of "Could not duplicate" but we still get paid. Of course, some things have to be fixed or else. The most difficult ones are the ones the came in on an emergency landing and you have to find something wrong that isn't there. (Pilot error)
Anyways, I found out which "Dealership" to stay away from. Thanks Ramness!

Hey Cyclemut, I see you're in Denver? Which dealership do you work for?

He works at Tynan's Nissan on Havana in Aurora.

That's what I figured, I'd heard many good things about them. A friend of a friend works there, as well.

Thanks!

So I had been waiting on seat frame for quite a while now to fix the height adjustment problem. I have been calling the service department every week or so to see if it had come in yet. Finally I called yesterday afternoon and was told it had come in. I asked when they planned on telling me it came in… of course they had no answer. I told them I would be there in an hour or so to have it put it in.

I pull in and I am met with yet another new service advisor. I tell him why I am there, what is being fixed and that I had called and verified the part was there about 2 hours before. So I go walk the lot (I hate waiting in waiting rooms) and about 20 minutes later they page me on the loudspeaker. I walk in and find my truck still in the service drive. I’m told #1 that they locked the keys in the truck and #2 my part is not in, it’s still on back order! Of course the service advisor I talked to on the phone was nowhere to be found.

After quite a bit of back and forth they finally found that they did have one in stock but a body shop had ordered one before I did. They said they would just go ahead and let me have it and asked if I was leaving my truck. After all that they didn’t know if they would have time to finish it. This was a little after 3 pm and they close at 6. They would not give me a rental so I told them I would have to come back another day.

Thanks for wasting my time again Gwinnett Place Nissan! I’ll be so glad to have this over with so I won’t have to set in foot (or tire) in there ever again!

Can you send a written complaint to the Nissan HQ explaining what you had to go through? It can't hurt.Who knows, maybe somebody will do something about it.Sorry to hear this.I hope all the problems will be fixed!

oh I've allready called the 1-800-nissan1 # I mentioned that somewhere in this post i think. But they sent me a $100 gift certificate. So I got seat covers for $30 after tax.

I hope that everything will work out but I still think that you should send a written complaint.Reason being that they will have to follow a different trail than just a verbal complaint over the phone that will be probably just be logged somwhere as " problem solved".I might be wrong but again, you have nothing to lose and you deserve it after all the things they put you through.Who knows, maybe Nissan will send the dealership a letter or something..Just a thought.

Amazingly, I just got my first X from Gwinnett Place -- they preformed their inspection but failed to miss the open recalls for window regulators and a fuel tank seal. After having the truck for a weekend, it was back in the shop to have the recalls taken care of. I also mentioned that the fog lights were not working and aked them to check into it. Of course, they did not and they are still not working. Additionally, I get my X back to find the rear right tire with 12 psi in it. And a small tack that had to be there pre-purchace. Some inspection, those guys really know what to do. I plan on writing to Nissan and the GM.

Well I called Tuesday to see about bringing the truck in to have the seat worked on. They told me they did not have time but I could drop it off. I informed them I would rather wait and do it when I can wait on the truck since they were not going to provide and rental. Then the service advisor told me he would need it for an entire day. Which was odd as they have replaced this same part before while I waited and it only took around 2 hours. That and they had told me a week before that it would only take 2 and half hours. Course when I mentioned this he said because it was a warranty job he needed it longer. What a load of Crap! I told him he was going to have to have it all day they would need to provide me a rental car. Again he told me no rental. I then informed him that my extended warranty stated otherwise if he was going to be keeping it all day. “oh… I didn’t know you had that” was the reply.

So this morning I got up rather early and dropped it off. I think they really wanted to get me out of there quick. The service advisor called for Enterprise to come get me before he even came out of his office.

They were going to put me in this little Dodge Neon but I opted to pay $10 for a 2004 F-150 instead. Which was nice… till it got a flat tire an hour later… So I now have a 2004 Dakota for free!

I realized I had left something of importance in the X (a rather sizeable insurance settlement check) so I went back for it. I went around and found the X in the back lot Unlocked again! Even though I had told them again not to leave it unlocked anywhere for any length of time. I spoke to the service advisor and he was immediately on the defensive wanting to know why I was in the back lot! Stated I was not allowed back there without and escort. We went back forth about for a while and the service manager even came out to talk to me. Basically they told me it was impossible to guarantee that my vehicle could be kept locked and that if I didn’t want anything stolen I should take everything out of it. They also said that the technicians had it in the bay and had just put it in the lot and needed to keep it open cause they were going in and out of it. Course I doubt that and will verify that myself when I look at the tape later.

I will be so glad to be done with these people!

Geez Brain, you really have gotten the pick of the litter as far as dealers. Have they been bought out or taken over recently?

Nissan dealer where I bought my Pathy was early this year. Service and attitude went way down. Next service time its going to another dealer for sure.

i didn't think about that Brian. Did you have the camera rolling and taping? mine has sound as well, so it will be interesting next time i go into a dealership to see what really goes on inside the truck.

Well I went and got the tape out of the truck tonight after work. The truck was locked, they had a padlock on the gate at the main entrance but it wasn't locked.

I'm watching the tape now so far it has sat in a service bay with the keys in the ignition and the door open for 25 minutes and counting with no work done on it other than something being unwrapped from a box and two people talking about ordered parts.

I looked at the seat when I got the tape and it looked like they had not even touched it yet. Yet they seem to have time to play with a basketball in the bay across from my truck. So this might be interesting tomorrow morning since they told me I could only have the rental for 24 hours.

At some point they played with my switch box and managed to turn off the recorder

YA GPN Sucks. I was with brian today when the Service Manger was just trying to cover his ass. I will never buy or have my vehilce serviced at GPN.

Ok after watching the tape the truck sat in the service bay with no work done on it for 44 minutes before some nosey bastard got in the truck, turned on ignition (without starting the engine) and proceeded to try every switch on the switch box. You can distinctly hear 5 of the 7 switches being clicked on and off until he stumbled on the switch for the power inverter that powers the VCR and camera.

Way to lock the gate GPN!

Why are those guys even messing with the switches? Complain, complain, complain, notify every consumer rights watch dog, and post on every board. Boycott that dealership.

Yes and now you're probably in the Nissan database as a problem customer. You'll get shit at every dealer you go to.

LOL, they turned the camera off, thats too funny. Time to sit in the lot next door with a separate camera and see what happens.

Why not just drop back and punt? Go to another dealer and start over. Don't even mention that parts have been ordered by the other dealer, just act like you were new in town.

Well Brian and I went back to GPN tonight and of course the gate was unlocked again.

I think that would be a bit on the crazy overboard side. Plus its to damn hot to sit outside all day. I honestly don't think his intention was to turn off the camera I just think he was being nosey, its not like the swtiches are labeled or anything.

Well I went to pick up the X this morning. After they paged my service advisor 3 times he finally appeared in his office (I was standing in the service drive). I waited patiently for him to come out while he looked through some papers in his office and checked his computer for some answers… After a little while of this an older lady came through and asked if had was being helped. I motioned toward my service advisor and said “no, not yet I’m just waiting for him to come out” So she goes over and opens the door but before she can say anything he snaps at her and says “Yes I know he is here, he is standing right there! I see him!”

Finally he comes out and tells me that the part they ordered had the incorrect part # and something about their computers showing the wrong part #s for the seats. I really didn’t grasp what he was talking about but basically they ordered the wrong parts and were not sure what they needed to order to fix it. He said that he emailed someone at Nissan and was waiting for a reply but in the meantime the seat was all taken apart while waiting for the reply so I could not have the X back today. So now this 2 and half-hour repair had turned into a 2-day repair. I also asked why he did not call me with this information. This was at 11am I was actually supposed to pick up the X around 10 am due to the rental coverage only being good for 24 hours (hit the snooze a couple to many times). He claimed he was going to call after he got an answer from Nissan.

I then inquired about the rental car situation since I was told I was only going to be in a rental for 1 day so therefore I opted to pay the money for upgrading it for 1 day. He said if I didn’t want to pay anymore out of pocket I would have to take back the car I was renting and get one that they pay for in full (dodge neon) as my extended warranty plan only pays $25 per day and even though it was taking longer than expected I would have to pay the difference.

This got me wondering so after I left I called the 1-800-Nissan-1 again. They were very surprised to hear that my seat had not been fixed yet. So I filled them in on the latest and inquired about the rental coverage under my extended warranty they said my plan pays $35 a day rather than $25 as stated by the service advisor. I’m paying $10 out of pocket extra per day (first day was waived due to the flat tire) so it looks like they should be covering the whole thing!

Checked on the X tonight after work. The front gate was unlocked again. The Xterra was locked but the drivers seat had been completely removed. So we shall see what happens when I go back at 10am. I was joking with Chris that since I had my tools with me I should just take a seat out of a new X on the lot, install it in mine, open the unlocked gate and just drive my X home. But of course leave them a note saying…

“Got tired of waiting! Fixed it myself. Will be back for my key later. PS stock # F247865 might need a new seat”

I don’t know why I would be on a national dealer Shit list. I’m not going there with the intention of starting trouble they are doing just fine at bring that on themselves. I have not raised my voice or yelled at any of them, and I haven’t caused any major scenes. All I want is my problem diagnosed and repaired in a timely manor, to be kept informed of what is going on with my vehicle, and for them to keep it locked when unattended. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for! But here we are on the 9th trip for the same problem since January 7th, they don’t call me to tell me what’s going on. They don’t treat me with any sort of respect, rather they treat me like a thorn in their side that they want to deal with as little as possible and quickly get rid of.

Wow, more self control than I would have. Unfortunately that seems to be what it takes these days to get what your entitled to. Its a shame.

I'm curious if you've tried contacting the dealerships owner? That may be a final course of action should this repair not work.

Wow Brian....that's amazing. I have received some absolute shit treatment from my service department.....but nothing as bad as what it seems you are experiencing.

It's a shame that Nissan corporate can't seem to get a handle on the bad service situation....it will ultimately effect their reputation and, thusly, sales.

I know there are some good service departments out there.....but it seems they are few and far between. Coming from a Saturn before my Nissan, the service experience in my vehicle ownership has done a 180 degree shift.

SHIFT_ Shitty service

Called Enterprise this morning and confirmed that Nissan told them $25 per day rather than $35 per day as stated in the Extended Warranty. The employee at Enterprise said she knew it was supposed to be $35 and that Gwinnett Place has been doing this for quite some time, but most customers never bother to check the coverage limits.

I also called after 10am to see if the truck was ready yet. After asking my name my service advisor asked, “remind me, what we are doing to your vehicle?” “The seat” was my reply. He suddenly remembered and said he would have to check and call me right back. So far 1 hour has passed no call yet.

If I don’t get a call soon I’m going to call and tell them to put my truck back together and I will be there at 1pm to permanently remove it from their dealership repaired or not. This is 3 days now to fix something simple!

I'd go get my truck as well. This is way beyond poor service.

And for the $35, I got an habit of reading everything I sign, reviewing it before calling, and reviewing it after. Just had it with salesperson and customr service people trying to screw you on little details, when I go and have a conversation with them, I try to know the contract more than they do.
But even then, sometimes they find a way to screw me...

I have a question, can you report this to Nissan Corporate as an abuse on the dealerships part as they told you it would take 2.5 hours originally and now it's taking days, in addition to them not giving the approriate priced rentals?

Granted I know the dealer will probably always string out warrenty work to get a little extra out of it, but this sounds like they are purposely ripping off customers (on rentals) and Nissan (on warrenty work, and possibly the rentals) alike.

This just keeps getting better and better….

Spoke to Nissan again to see if I should expect any problems from GPN concerning the rental situation. They put me on hold while they called the service manager and informed him that it was $35 per day not $25 and to pay for my upgraded vehicle. So that problem is solved. It would be interesting to know how many other customers have paid out of pocket for upgraded cars though and what GPN did with that extra $10 per day for all those customers.

I also asked Nissan about just having them put my truck back together so I could take it elsewhere and have the other dealership I work with order the correct part. I was told that in order for them to pay for the rental the repair had to be completed! If I chose to remove it from the dealership I may have to pay for the entire rental car bill. Which would be over $100!

Apparently they still have no clue what part needs to be ordered. They also said they cannot put my truck back together until they get the correct part. Once they figure out the right part # it may take UP TO A MONTH OR LONGER to get the part! Which means my X would have to sit there at Gwinnett Place Nissan for that entire length of time. Oh and they only pay for a rental car for 5 days… today is day 3… So what the Hell am I supposed to drive for the rest of time I am waiting?!?!

I dunno....I think that this may need to be dealt with on some kind of legal level at this point Brian.

EDIT: Think about it......even if there is a stipulation in the extended warranty stating that rental will only be covered for 5 days, the extension of time needed for this repair is solely the fault of GPN. They diassembled the vehicle without parts in hand or ability to have parts in hand to repair it in a timely fashion.

That has taken any liability on you out of the equation. They are responsible for either getting the truck re-assembled and returned to you until such time that they can repair it in a timely fashion....or cover transportation costs for you while it remains in their custody to repair, and until such time it is repaired to your satisfaction, within the parameters of your extended warranty.

Jeeezus Brian, this is too much. My dealership would have already offered to pull a seat from a new X under those circumstances, or just order a completely new seat at no cost to me.

You're letting them walk all over you, bro. Have a lawyer draft "a letter" stating that you expect to not only be paid for the rental, but you expect to be reimbursed for any other trouble since all of this shit was predicated by THEIR PROMISE to you. Big guns, bigger stick.

At the very least, I would insist on speaking with the owner of the dealership about their $10 robbery issue.

Ok, I'm not mechanical so you don't see me contributing to most of the posts in that manner, but this is right up my alley.

You can attract more flys with honey. Be nice, they want to help you, because you're a patient and nice guy. The downside, is the whole, "kindness mistaken for weakness" thing. If being nice and patient doesn't work, then go right into what I like to call....

The Roadhouse Method Translation: Be nice until it's time to not be nice. Walk in there like you own the place, ask to see the GM. Be firm. Be firm. Be firm. Tell him everything that is going on, and explain your terms to him. You can be not nice and still be professional. Don't let him tell you what's what, you tell him the way it's going to be. Bullshit flatter him..."Mr. GM, I'm coming to you because I'm confident you can remedy this situation and prevent me from having to contact the owner or take further recourse." You get get the picture.

Dude, you'd be surprised how some people will react to that kind of bullishness. Seriously. Hell, I've demanded things in situations, thinking to myself they're just going to tell me to go fuck myself, but it's worked. They tell you something you don't want to hear, "No, that's not acceptable." Then be quiet. It'll feel ackward, but he'll speak first. And if you still don't like it, say the same thing, eventually he'll come back with the answer you want to hear, if anything just to get you out of his face.

I say we picket.

(GA doesn't have a peacable protest law does it?)

Wow. How are you staying calm about this?! Good for you.

I'd be trying to reach anyone and everyone over the service manager head. Owner, GM, whoever.

Grab your paper work and be sure it states that a rental is only for 5 days. If so I'd call and tell them they have until day 5 to fix it, or your coming to get it. If they want the $ for the rental, let them take you to court.

Have you considered visiting another dealer and trying to befriend their service manager? Might be good to try and get another dealer on your side should you need the support.

Oh I already have another service department to go to! As stated before all other problems have been taken to Stone Mountain Nissan and they have given me nothing but excellent service. In fact they have a rear differential sitting there waiting to be installed in my X right now. I had every intention of picking up the X from GPN yesterday morning and then driving to Stone Mountain and picking up rental vehicle #3 while they installed the Diff.

Since GPN started this I was just letting them finish it up, who knew it would turn into such a big ordeal.

Well I got a call at 4:30 PM from GPN telling me that they found out what part was needed to repair my seat. They located one in TN and they will have it on Monday.

Just heard of this site on XM this morning -- you may want to give it a shot: www.planetfeedback.com -- they automate the letter writing process to Nissan (and any other company for that matter...) I just wrote a complaint about my less than satisfactory service at GPN-- you may want to give it a shot.

Well I have the truck back finally. Only time will tell if the seat is actually fixed.

All told for the initially 2.5 hour estimated repair the X spent 127 hours at the dealership.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went to get a battery for my camera off the charger in the back of the X. Remember I only thought it was going to be there for 1 day so I ended up going to retrieve items 4 times. I found a salesman and one of the sales managers feverishly trying to get an Armada to start. They tried two jump-start boxes but both were dead. As I walked by they told me they had a sale on the line, they were closing in 15 minutes, and asked if I had any jumper cables. Lucky for them I did and as we were closing the hood the salesman asked me what he owed me. I told him he could get them to have my truck ready by 4pm the following day. (at the time I was meeting a friend to go biking on the other side of Atlanta at 6pm and the X was the only way I had to transport the bike) I told him what was going on and he took my information and promised to talk to the service department in the morning.

So the jump-start dude called me this morning (Monday) at 7am! Mondays are my workweek equivalents to Saturdays. So I didn’t answer. Then he calls again at 8, which I answered and he told me he spoke to my service advisor and assured me they were going to do their best to have it ready on time. Great! I say and went back to sleep.

4:30pm rolls around and no word from the dealership. So I called them. “I was just trying to call you” the service adviser exclaims. He stated it was ready.

When I went the pick up the X most of the service advisors were not in their offices, I joked with the cashier that they saw me coming and ran to hide. It was the same lady my service advisor had snapped at a few days before. The cashier had all of the paper work for my trucks visit and she let me go through the pile. In the pile was an email sent by one of the parts managers containing my VIN and “I HAVE A 2003 XTERRA THAT NEEDS AN ADJUSTABLE SEAT FRAME, AND FAST!” I found a little humor in the “and fast” part. Also included was the card that the technician stamped with the time clock when he started the repair and when he finished. It was stamped “JUL 2 3:48” and “JUL 2 4:11”. So the actual repair took a whole 23 minutes!

After I had the keys to the truck back I requested to speak to the Service manager. I explained to him that I was not very pleased with the fact that his employees felt it necessary to “play” with my vehicle while it was there for service and told him what I knew they had done while it was there. He seemed confused as how I knew this but asked if I could point out those involved. I told him I did not see the one person that I was most concerned about (the one that turned off the camera). He asked if I could describe the person, to which I replied no but I could show him.

At that point I walked around the X, retrieved my portable DVD player. By now several other employees had gathered around and they all followed and tried to huddle around to watch the movie. At that point the service manager told them all to excuse us, course they walked away but inched in once the video started. I showed him the one clip of the technician getting in and playing with the light switches. He was able to identify the person and advised he would speak to him. I opted to not show the clip of them playing basketball in the bay as well as another person that was playing in the truck. I’ll save that for later…

I also questioned him again on how they secure vehicles. I informed him that of the 3 times that I came by after midnight I found the gate unlocked 2 of those time, I also showed him the picture I posted of the opened lock. Further I explained that before I dropped off my rental car I found my truck in the back unlocked again and I was able to put all my items in the truck and arrange it back all while 4 employees walked by without saying a word to me. Remember he had told me a few days before that when they find people in the back storage lot they are escorted to the front. Keep in mind also they keep about 80% of their new car inventory in this supposedly restricted back parking lot. I went on to say not only did they not say anything to me today but that I had been going back and looking through that lot dozens of times a year over the past 4 years and no one had ever said a word to me.

He thanked me for “pointing out their lapses in security” (sarcastically) and went on to say that on future visits we would have to make some sort of special arrangements for me and my vehicle and that we would have to come to some sort of compromise. I told him that was not necessary that all I required was that my vehicle be repaired by his employees, kept locked, and not treated like a toy! I further told him that none of that would be necessary as my vehicle would not be back for any further work. To this he replied “And maybe that’s not a bad idea at this point”

Somewhere along the way he asked why I had all the equipment that I have and what I did for a living I answered him (which I should have responded none of your damn business) I also assured him that the camera in my vehicle was not put in just to watch his employees (although it sure came in handy) that it was there for me as a silent witness in the event of an accident. He also told me that it might just be curiosity that’s causing his employees to do what they do to it.

I doubt he will say anything to anyone about the issues I attempted to address but oh well. They have not heard the last from me…

As I pulled out of the dealership I discovered some one had driven my truck at night at some point… Wish I had caught them doing that!

Would be very interesting to know how much it would have cost for them to just order me a new seat back in January and install it while I waited, compared to all these wrong parts they have ordered plus the labor to install them plus the $210 the rental car!

there is an adjuster thing for the '03 that goes in the lumbar area... No part number, no R&R time, not even a price is listed. But the part is depicted
I don't even see the thing you're refering to.

Maybe that is what they ran into?

I know if it was me, I'd get on the horn to Nissan NA and ask

The bottom seat frame (which it may be a part of) is listed as $299.78 with an R&R time of 1.7 hours. Apparently that time is prorated for Basketball.

I still say we picket.

Dam.. Adam i get a laugh every time i read one of your posts. I guess it is just the way you word stuff.

Seat is still broken

Time to move on to another dealer, let them handle it. Oh and send the video to several high ups in Nissan corp.

Well at least you found a better dealership to work with. Now you can put them to the true test. And what the heck, keep the cameras rolling too. Good luck!

This shit is uncanny.......

Sounds just like Academy Nissan in Colorado Springs!!!

I HATE dealing with all dealerships and have yet to be satisfied yet. I just expect horrible service these days. I dropped off the X for my last oil change at 7:30 am. It hadn't even entered the bay at 3:30pm. I get all service done at the dealership until the warranty expires(for records' sake), but am now reconsidering that line of thought....

Too bad you don't live closer Jeff.